News you need: Morning links for Tuesday, May 15

May 15, 2018 11:02 am

Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.) casts his vote in the 2018 Pennsylvania Primary Election for U.S. Senator at the Hazleton Southside Fire Station polling station on Tuesday in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. In the second major May primary day nationwide, four states go to the polls: Idaho, Nebraska, Oregon, and Pennsylvania. (Mark Makela/Getty Images)

It’s primary day in Pennsylvania, Idaho, Nebraska, and Oregon (CBS News)
Pennsylvania is seeing competitive elections in both House and Senate races. Democrats in Nebraska vote on their candidate for a seat in the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, in Idaho, Sen. Raul Labrador, the founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, is hoping to win the GOP nomination for the state’s governor race. In Oregon, 10 Republicans are running to challenge the state’s Democratic governor in November.

An Australian man is credited with saving 2.4 million babies (ABC News)
James Harrison has a rare antibody in his blood. This antibody can be used to create a treatment for women at risk to suffer from a condition where their own antibodies fight against their babies during pregnancy. Harrison has donated his blood plasma 1,100, allowing for the creation of more than 3,000,000 doses of the treatment, according to the Red Cross. Harrison donated for the last time on Friday, since at 81 he has passed the maximum age for donating blood. Harrison told the Sydney Morning Herald that it was “a sad day” for him. “I’d keep on going if they’d let me,” he said.

Gender discrimination is killing hundreds of thousands of young girls in India (CNN)
A new study estimates that 239,000 girls younger than 5 die in India from neglect specifically linked to gender discrimination. The tragic study only looked at statistics after birth, so it did not include data for sex-selective abortions. In India, like nearby China, a preference for male children has led to a gender gap, with men outnumbering women by tens of millions.

Russia’s government builds a road to newly annexed Crimea (The Telegraph)
Further solidifying its hold on the territory, the Russian government has opened a new road connecting Crimea, which was formerly part of Ukraine, to the rest of Russia. Putin himself drove a large, orange truck across the bridge to celebrate its opening.

Taliban fighters are dangerously close to taking control of a crucial Afghanistan city (New York Times)
Taliban forces have taken parts of the city of Farah, including some governmental buildings. Farah is the capital of a province by the same name, and would be only the second city that the Taliban managed to take since the War on Terror began. The city of Kunduz was conquered twice by the Taliban, but was retaken both times. Afghan government officials said that they were hoping to regain full control of the city Tuesday. The governor of the Farah province fled the city when the attack began.

A man who spent 18 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit is finally free (CBS News)
In 2001, David Robinson was found guilty of murdering a bar owner and then robbing the store, despite a lack of evidence. Investigators insisted that Robinson, who had a police record for drug crimes, had shot the bar owner in a botched drug deal. Authorities later found that a witness who testified at Robinson’s trial had been paid off. The likely actual murderer confesseed on tape in 2004, but committed suicide in 2009. Robinson described his experience as a “nightmare.”

Pennsylvania’s highest court is set to rule on whether the “soda tax” is legal (Wall Street Journal)
The American Beverage Association is challenging a Philadelphia law taxing soda consumption in the state’s highest court. The existing law, which went into effect in January 2017, adds a 1.5 cent per ounce tax to all sugary drinks. While it’s commonly referred to as a “soda tax” because of the broad way that the law is written, it also applies to products like Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Cocktail and almond milk. If the court rules against Philadelphia, it could have implications for other taxes that target products like cigarettes, in order to curb their use.

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